Applications
Virgin Media launches YouTube app in TV guide
MUMBAI: Virgin Media has created a channel for YouTube in its Electronic Programme Guide (EPG), enabling Virgin Media TiVo customers to access the video community’s online content from listings that have until now been available only to traditional linear broadcast channels.
YouTube is the first app to be included in a TV guide and is available to all Virgin Media TiVo customers.
In addition, Virgin Media has integrated YouTube clips and channels more deeply in TiVo’s ‘My Shows’ and ‘Search and Browse’ areas, giving viewers the widest choice in how to access entertainment. The app is free to access and can be launched by scrolling through the channel listings and selecting number 198.
Virgin Media Associate Director of content acquisition Peter Chapman said, “As the first and fastest growing next generation TV service, Virgin Media TiVo is transforming the way we watch television. The distinction between different types of entertainment – from channel schedules to On Demand TV, from linear broadcasts to online content – is blurring all the time. By giving YouTube a place in our channel listings we’re breaking the mould of the traditional EPG and giving our customers even more choice in how they can watch the great content on our platform.”
YouTube Global Director Platform Partnerships Francisco Varela, “We’re always looking for new ways to bring the exciting content generated by our creator community to viewers and are delighted that the YouTube app now has a place in Virgin Media’s channel listings.”
In addition to being available through Virgin Media’s TV guide, the YouTube app can be found within the ‘Apps and Games’, ‘My Shows’ and ‘Search & Browse’ areas on Virgin Media TiVo.
YouTube search results are even instantly available on every programme information page as bonus features, allowing viewers to easily become immersed in bloopers, fandom content and more, all directly related to the show they’re interested in.
Applications
With 57 per cent single new users, Ashley Madison rebrands as discreet dating platform
Platform says majority of new members now identify as single
INDIA: Ashley Madison is shedding the “married-dating” label that defined it for two decades, repositioning itself as a platform for discreet dating in what it calls the post-social media age.
The rebrand, unveiled in India on 27 February, 2026, marks a structural shift in business model and identity. Once synonymous with married dating, the company now describes itself as the “premier destination for discreet dating” under a new tagline: Where Desire Meets Discretion.
The pivot is data-driven. Internal figures show that 57 per cent of global sign-ups between 1 January and 31 December, 2025 identified as single: a notable departure from the platform’s married core. The company argues that its community has already evolved beyond its original positioning.
“In an age where our lives have been constantly put on public display, privacy has become the new luxury,” said Ashley Madison chief strategy officer Paul Keable. He framed the platform’s offering as “ethical discretion” for singles, separated, divorced and non-monogamous users seeking private connections.
The shift also taps into wider digital fatigue. A global survey conducted by YouGov for Ashley Madison, covering 13,071 adults across Australia, Brazil, Canada, Germany, India, Italy, Mexico, Spain, Switzerland, the UK and the US, found mounting discomfort with hyper-public online lives.
Among dating app users, 30 per cent cited constant swiping and messaging as a source of fatigue, while 24 per cent pointed to pressure to curate public-facing profiles and early personal disclosure. Some 27 per cent said fears of screenshots or information being shared contributed to exhaustion; an equal share cited unwanted attention.
The retreat from oversharing appears broader. According to the survey, 46 per cent of adults actively try to keep most aspects of their life private online. Only 8 per cent feel comfortable sharing most aspects publicly, while 35 per cent say they are becoming more selective about what they disclose.
Ashley Madison is betting that this cultural recalibration towards controlled visibility can be monetised. By doubling down on privacy infrastructure and reframing itself around discretion rather than infidelity, the company is attempting to convert reputational baggage into a premium proposition.
